Auxiliary fluid-pressure control



Dec. 4 1923.

, c. STlCKLE AUXILIARY FLUID PRESSURE CONTROL Filed July 15 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

CoLE 5r/c KL E Dec. 4 1923.

1 I c. STICKLE mummy mum PRESSURE common Filed July 15. 1921 2 sheets-sheet 2 Fig. 4 L

, A /r 1 e5 60 7 V INVENTOR. COLE .SI' IGKL'E.

of Indiana, have invented a certain new and Patented Dec. 4, 1923.

UFITED s'lrrss COLE sricKL or INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, .assrenon TO ornn coir. HEATE '&

* wean PATENT- ounce.

PURIEIER coiarnnxor rnnrnnnronrs, INDIANA, n. conronn'rroir AUXILIARY 'rLUID-Passsuitiu CONT OL;

Application filed Ju1y'15, 1921. Serial No. 484,909;

i T 0 all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that 1, Corn S'rIoKLn, a. citi zen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and State useful Auxiliary Fluid-Pressure Control;

and I do hereby declare thatthe'following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichlike numerals refer to like parts. a

This invention relatesto an improvement in auxiliary fluid pressure control'mechanism in connection with steam boilers adapted for performing a variety of functions. Herein it is shown particularly for controlling the flue damper of a steam boiler, and also a reducing valve, but itis not limited to suchuse, as it may be employed forcontrolling other mechanism.

The chief feature of the invention consists in the combination of an adjustable spring with a weighted lever, and acting independ ently thereof, for resisting-the action of a fluid pressure actuated means, such as a diaphragm in a pilot valve or like auxihary control, either in anindependent fiuid'pressure line, or m a direct steam line for the ultrmate control of the damper or othermeans sought to be controlled, and'adapting the:

mechanism to act ata predetermined maximum fluid pressure.

Heretofore such auxiliary pilotvalve control means has been regulated only by a weighted lever, and in actual practice a relatively long lever and heavy weight are re quired'. l/Vith this improvement, having an adjustable spring'acting independently of said lever, yet cooperating therewith, it is possible to reduce greatly the length ofthe lever and size of the weight, so that it will not be in the way, or otherwise objectionable. and also adapt the device for variable fluid pressures as the work or situation may require. The spring can be adjusted to furnish the major portion of resistance; while the lever, which is adjustable in action, will furnish the remaining resistance. 7 I

The fullnature of the invention w1ll be understood from the accompanying draw ings and the followmg description and being shown in elevation, and parts broken Fig. 3 is acentral vertical section through a modified form forsteamvpressu re control,

parts beingbrokenaway. Fig. 4 is a reproduction of a portion of Fig.3 on a larger scale with the pilot valve closed. Fig. 5 is a section of the diaphragm shown in Fig.1 in altered position. 7 r r In Fig. 1 there is showna' flue 10 'of a steam boiler in which thereiS'a damper 11*- shown by-dotted lines centrally pivoted on a rod 12'so as to regulate said flue. T An arm 13 outside of the flue is rigidly secured to the damper rod 12,1and it carries a weight, 14:

sufficient to move the damper to closed position. v A chain 15 is connected with the weight 14 and passes over pulleys 16 and 17 to an-adjustable weight 18on a-piston' rod 19 connected withfa piston 20 in the cylin- I der 21. The weight '18 is'suflicient, to open the damper 11 unless it 'is 'counteracted or regulated by fluid pressure in the lower end of the cylinder '21 acting upward on the pis-' ton 20. l/Vitho'ut fluid'pressur'e the cylin- CJI der 21, the weight18 would open thewdamper; but with sufiicient fluid pressure to raise the weight 18, the weight 14 would be permitted to close the damper. e The cylinder 21 is supplied with water un der pressure which comes fromthe displacement tank 121. The water in the tank 121 is I subjected to pressure by steam coming in through the pipe 122 and an'independent auxiliary pipe 27. Said-pipes are connect- .ed by a valve chamber 25 and controlled by a pilot valve 26'. By 'interposing the dis placement tank between the cylinder 21 and the steam line 122-27, the pistonl2O is pror tected from the steam and other advantages result. A leak valve 24 is in the pipe 122 This valve must always be open sufiiciently to permit thestea-m to leak away after the valve 26 is closed,'so that the water can rise in'the displacement tankand also lowerin the cylinder 21 under the weight 18, and thus return to normal position, in which the piston 20 is atthe bottom of the cylinder.

. In the construction as it is shown-in Fig, 1, the pilot valve 26is open so that fluid under pressure has actuated the piston 20, lift ed the weight 18 and permitted the damper to close. The pilot valve 26 has a' valve I stem 126 that extends down toa plate 27011 the diaphragm stem 28 thatextends through the upperwall of the diaphragmchamber 29 on a diaphragm plate 30 that is secured to ajdiaphragm 31, which is flexible material clamped between the upper and lower members of the diaphragm chamber. Steam' directly from the steam boiler comes through a pipe 32 to the under side of the diaphragm and actuates the diaphragm, and through the intermediate means actuates and opensthe pilot valve'26. The pilot valve stem 126 rides loosely on the plate 27, the stem having a. conical end fitting in a conical recess in theplaten Also the stem 28 is conical at its lower end and 'fitsloosely in the conical r cess of plate 30.

' for a weight hook 42 which carries the ward.

weights 4:3. The lever 38; is fulcrumed in. a sleeve 45 secured on the valve stem 126, so that the action of the weight a3 through the lever tends-to force the valve stem down- But in this construction, the weights 43'and the length of the lever 38 are such that they are. not suflicient to overcome the ordinary steam boiler pressure in thepipe 32. Therefore, an additional but independent means for aiding inthis object is provided in the spiral spring 46 which surrounds the valve stem 196 loosely and rests upon the plate 27 at its lower end and can rise a. plate 47 on its upper end whichscrews into the upper part of the frame 35 so as to be vertically adjustable for tensioning the spring 46. Therefore, by tightening the spring 46, it will cooperatewith the weight 43 and lever 08, but act independently thereof, in holding the diaphragm down until the maximum steam pressure occurs in the steam pipe 32 from the boiler. yl vhen excessive steam pressure enters the pipe 32, the dia phragm will rise against the action of the spring46 and the lever and open the pilot valve 26. V

' 'lhereiore, asensitlvc and compact means is provided in this invention :l'or regulating the generation of steam in the steam boiler, or the steam pressure therein. For, when the steam pressure is relatively low in' the boiler, the diaphragm 30 will be down and the'pilot valve 26 closed, and the liquid will allbe in the'displacementtank 121, so that the piston willbe down in the lower end of the cylinder 21 and the weights 18 down,

and thus liftthe weight 14 and open the.

damper to causea draft. When the steam pressure in the boiler has reached the desired maximum, it lifts the diaphragm and opens the pilot valve 26 and admits steam from the pipes 27122 into the displacement tank 121, which forces the water into the lever is impossible or difficult 01": use.

1f the high pressure- 1s 200 pounds, the spring,

to form a water pocket 67 to cylinder 21 and lifts the piston 20 and weight 18, and that permits the weight 14; to move the damper towards closing position. Afterward, if the steam pressure becomes: sufiiciently low, the spring'aGand the lever will return the diaphragm, whereby lever 38 Wlll close the pilot valve against the act1onof the steam pressure on the diaphragm, and thus shut oll' steam through the pipe 27 to the displacement tank 121. Then the steam in the upper end of the displacement tank. will escape through thee-leak valve 2 1 and the water will leave the cylinder 21and enter the tank 121 under the influence of the weight 18, and said weight 18 will open the damper,

By adjusting. the spring 46 sothat it will have a relatively high tension and will con-- trol a goodly portion of the steam pressure, the lever 38 can be comparatively re duced in size so as to enable the mechanism to be used in many situatlons where a longer Thus,

l6 can be adjusted'to resist substantially 15 0 pounds and the lever substantially 50 pounds. Since the action of the lever is readily adjustable and controls only a relatively slight pressure, the device. is conveniently and exactly contrblled. With this construction, it is'to be noted that it may be very readily adapted to variable pressures according to the work to be done, or condition orYoperation, by merely adjusting the weight independently ofthe spring 46.

In the modified form shown in Figs, 3 and l, there is a high pressure pipe50 from the boiler, and it is provided with a reducing valve51 in a suitable valve casing 52 that is connected with a low pressure pipe 53, which is extended for any desirable use where low pressure isrequired. The valve 51 isopened by a spring 55 which is supported on the crossbar of the frame 56 mounted on the valve casing and acts against a disc 57.- on the valve stem 58. The valve is closedby steam from the boilerrcoming through a pi pc 60 into the cylinder and acting on thepisten 62 secured on the upper end oli'the valve stem 58. The pipe 60 is connected with a has 63 comin fronrthe same boiler and they are connected by the valve casing 64: which has in it a pilot valve 65. There is a small vent 66 in the pipe 60 that is always open to relieve the pressure in the cylinder' 61 when the pilot valve'is closed so as to per mit the spring 55 t0 open the valve 51. There is also a downward bend in the steam line 60 stem controlled by the same mechanism which has been heretofore described for protect the pis-.

controlling; the pilot valve 26, as shown in Fig. 1, and these corresponding parts in the two constructions are given the same But the diaphragm is actuated numbers. by steam coming from the low pressure pipe 53 through a pipe 7 O in order that the pilot valve may be controlled by the pressure in the low pressure pipe.

The mode of operation of thismodified construction is' as follows. Vhen the reducing valve 51 is closed, as shown in Fig. 3, the pilot valve is open and the steam pressure through the lines 63,6O acts on the piston 62 to close the valve 51. 'VVhen the pressure in the low pressure pipe 53 lowers below the desired limit, it will permit the diaphragm 30' to lowerfrom the elevate the diaphragm and open the steam lines 6360, and thus again close the reducing valve 51.

With the foregoing modified construction it is noted that the tension of the spring 46 can be readily adjusted to accommodate the mechanism to wide-variations of pressure in the low pressure pipe 53, according to the ork that has to be performed, or the condition under which the mechanism is working at any time. The foregoing two forms of mechanism in which said invention can be employed illustrates the nature of the invention in said situations, but the invention is not necessarily limited to .the particular uses herein specified for the purpose of explaining the same, as there are other well recognized situations where said inven tion is advantageously used.

The invention claimed is:

l. Mechanism of the kind described including a valve with a valve stem, a diaphragm casing having a chamber therein,

a pipe for supplying fluid under pressure to said chamber, a diaphragm in said chamber,

a rod extending loosely through the casing into'engagement .withthe diaphragm so as to be actuated thereby, a plate mounted on said rod and against which the valve stem centrally rests,'a spiral spring surrounding the valve stem, with one end against said plate, a frame mounted on the I chaphragm casing,

a spring tensioning I member loosely surrounding the valve stem and engaging said spring and adapted to screw into said frame so thatthe tension I of the spring can be adjusted independently of the valve stem, and an adjustable weighted lever pivoted in said frame so as to tend to move said valve stem in the same direction as said springtends to move said plate on said diaphragm, whereby said spring will act on said diaghragm to resist its movement and said weighted lever Will act on the valve stem to close the valve and also cooperate with the spring in resisting said movement of the diaphragm.

- 2.; Mechanism of the kind described having a vertical cylinder, a piston therein for operating any desired means, a displacement tank located vertically beside said cylinder and with its lower end in communication with the lower end of the cylinder for elevating the piston,.means for supplying steam or water under pressure to the upper end of said displacement tank for forcing the liquid therefrom into the cylinfor supplying liquid under pressure thereto 7 der, a pilot valvefin said steam or air line,

a leak valve in the steam or air line between the upper part of said tank and the pilot valve, means actuated by fluid under pressure for opening said pilot valve, an adjustable weighted lever for closing said pilot valve whenthe fluid pressure is relatively low, an adjustable spring acting independently in said lever but cooperating therewith for resisting the operating movement of said fluid-actuating means, and means for returning the piston to normal position I after the pilot valve is closed and forcing the liquid back into the displacement tank.

3. Mechanism of the kind described having a vertical cylinder, a piston therein for operating any desired means, a displacement tank located vertically beside said cylinder and with its lower end in communication with the lower end of the cylinder for supplying liquid under pressure thereto for elevating the piston, means for supplying steam or water under pressure to the upper.

end of "said displacement tank for forcing the liquid therefrom into the-cylinder, a a

pilot valve in said steam or air line, a leak valve in'the steam or air line between the upper part of said tank and the pilot valve, a diaphragm for opening said pilot valve, means for supplying fluid under pressure for operating'said diaphragm, an adjustable spring for resetting the actuating movement of said diaphragm, an adjustable weighted lever for closing the ilot valve and cooperating with the spring in resetting the'actuating movement of the diaphragm, and

means for. returning the piston to normal position after the pilot valve is closed and forcing the liquid back into the-displacement tank.

In witness whereof, have hereunto afiixed my signature.

COLE STICKLE. 

